Liverpool: Adam, Cole & Spearing Made Available

According to reports midfield trio Charlie Adam, Joe Cole and Jay Spearing have all been made available for transfer by Liverpool...

Charlie Adam, Joe Cole and Jay Spearing could be on their way out of Anfield as Brendan Rodgers and the club's owners attempt to raise money for their own transfer targets.

Finances are known to be tight on Merseyside currently and after nobody matched their asking price for either Andy Carroll or Daniel Agger it appears the Reds are now looking to off load a number of squad players instead.

Following an opening day defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, Kop boss Rodgers admitted: "We still needed to bring in one or two players, but we need to work with the players that are here.

"You know what the limitations are in terms of budget, and the reality was the team finished eighth last year and there are reasons behind that."

After spending upwards of £30m on new recruits Joe Allen, Fabio Borini and Oussama Assaidi the coffers appear to be empty forcing Rodgers to pursue loan targets such as Spanish based pair Nuri Sahin and Cristian Tello (both of whom now look out of Liverpool's reach).

Ultimately though the 39-year-old former Swansea City boss will need to sell before he can physically buy again. Should he raise enough money then Fulham's Clint Dempsey and Arsenal's Theo Walcott are still amongst potential targets.

The Times are one of the sources reporting Adam will be allowed to leave for a fee of around £5m. The figure would represent a loss on the 26-year-old Scot who joined from Blackpool last summer before enduring an inconsistent debut season at Anfield.

Adam, an unused substitute at the Hawthorns, has recently indicated he is happy to fight for his place despite falling down the pecking order as a result of the Allen purchase and Jonjo Shelvey's emergence.

"I am open enough to say I have had a conversation with the manager but for me I'm not going anywhere," said the ex-Glasgow Rangers star last week to the Daily Record.

"I am happy at Liverpool and why would I leave after a year? There is no point. I am playing with some of the best players in the world.

"I have a good coach and am learning every day from what he is doing. I want to play this year."

Cole meanwhile did make the field on Saturday but was forced to leave again after only 9 minutes with the recurrence of a pre-season hamstring problem.

The injury could hamper the chances of the 31-year-old making a move elsewhere but more likely to be an issue is the player's 100k a week wages.

Last season the former England international had a loan spell with Lille in France and both they and another old club, West Ham United, may consider an approach.

Elsewhere Spearing has been linked with both a £3m move to Nottingham Forest (online sources) and a loan move to fellow Championship outfit Bolton Wanderers.

The more believable of the two is the switch to Bolton's Reebok Stadium which is carried by the Liverpool ECHO.

The combative 23-year-old Academy graduate failed to make the 18-man squad at the weekend and may consider it to be time to seek more game time elsewhere.

Trotters manager Owen Coyle has admitted his admiration for Spearing although a loan move would hardly help the Reds finance any transfers of their own.

Coyle today told Sky Sports: "It's fair to say we're always going to be linked with players in that area, because we've said that's the type of player we're looking for.

"Jay Spearing's a wonderfully talented young player, but he's a Liverpool player and it's not for me to comment on anybody's players."

What is clear though is that there is plenty of work to be done by the club ahead of the transfer window deadline on August 31st.

Vital Verdict

Of the three, Cole is probably the least likely to leave after forging a good working relationship with Rodgers during their time together at Chelsea. His ability to play further forward and out wide also gives the squad better balance, not to mention his current contract being a huge stumbling block.

Both Adam and Spearing are decent players who give the squad good depth but with a host of central midfielders on the books including Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson they are expendable.

Selling both should land more than enough money to at least bring in Dempsey who should help a team struggling for goals and a cutting edge in the final third.

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Comments

£8-£10m sounds about right fee wise if we can find takers @BigRed83. I doubt Cole will command much of a transfer fee but getting his wages of the books will still help. At £5m, hopefully a little more, there should be a lot of interest in Adam - I hear Stoke and Fulham are possible destinations.